Upholstering tool



Feb. 2, 1965 D. L. LEWIS UFHOLSTERING TOOL Filed Oct. 4

INVENTOR DELBERT L. LEWIS W FIG. I

AT TOR NEY United States Patent Filed Oct. 4, 1962, Ser. No. 228,465 3Claims. (Cl. 223-102) This invention pertains to a tool primarilyintended for extending a filament through an upholstered article fortying the unit together.

The device of this invention is particularly useful in the constructionof upholstered furniture or mattresses. For example, in the manufactureof over-stuffed furniture, in many instances it is necessary to tie theseat back to the structure of the unit so that the back cover will befirmly anchored. When buttons are not used it has been the practice tothread an elongated needle with a cord, push the needle through the seatback at a place to be tied, disengage the cord on the back side, andthen remove the needle. The other end of the length of cord then isthreaded into the needle and the operation of pushing the cord throughthe seat back is repeated. In this manner, a loop of the cord is formedon the exterior side of the seat back, while the two ends are on thereverse side where they may be tied to the frame or base of the springs.The laborious and repeated threading of the needle for separatelyforcing two ends of the string used in tying the cover material has beenextremely time-consuming. Consequently, this operation has become anunduly expensive one in furniture manufacture.

The arrangement of this invention provides a tool that is simple to use,but yet which reduces by at least onehalf the time for stringing thelength of cord through the seat back. This is accomplished by means of aduality of elongated needles which are secured together near one end andmounted in a suitable handle. The two ends of the string are threadedthrough the eyes of the twin needles which then are forced through thecover material in a single operation. The needles are deflectable sothat the spacing between the two sections of the string extendingthrough the seat back may be varied appropriately to suit the conditionsat hand.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved means forsecuring the covers of upholstered articles.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device for tying acover in reduced time and at less cost than normally required.

A further object of this invention is to provide a single tool that willextend both ends of a length of cord through a cover or similar articlein one operation.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a device which willpermit varying of the spacing of the aper tures through which a cordused in tying a cover or the like extends.

These and other objects will become apparent from the following detaileddescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a seat back having a cover tied down bythe device of this invention,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the cover assembly,

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the tool of this invention,

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view illustrating the mannerin which the tool of this invention passes the string through the cover,

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 with the cover tied in place,

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 66 of FIG. 5, and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary elevational view of a modified form of theinvention in which the handle includes a stop to limit the travel of theneedles and preclude damage to the goods.

With reference to the drawings, the arrangement of the invention isparticularly suitable for securing the covers of seat backs, such as theseat back 1 seen in FIG. 1. As shown in the enlarged fragmentarysectional view of FIG. 2, the cover for the seat back may consist of alayer of flexible plastic sheet material 2 placed over a foam interlayer3. The latter may be foam rubber or an open cell foam plastic material,generally around one andonehalf inches thick. A thin layer ofdenim cloth4 lies along the inner surface of the foam 3.

For decorative purposes the cover may include a pattern such as thatindicated by the lines 5 in FIG. 1. This is accomplished by sewingtogether the layers of the cover assembly along the lines 5 prior toassociating the cover with the seat back. Hence, the layers 2, 3 and 4are sewn together ona conventional sewing machine which compresses thefoam 3 creating a crevice, as seen in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, along the lineof the articles.

In securing the cover to the seat back, a string will be passed throughthe cover at locations Within the crevices so that it will not bevisible from the exterior when the articles of furniture is complete.This is because the deep narrow indentations where the cover assemblyhas been sewn hide the small exposed end of the string used for thispurpose. Normally the cover will be tied down in two or more placesdepending upon the type of pattern formed in the cover. Usually it willbe secured at some intersection of the crevices, such as at the points 7and 8 in the arrangement of FIG. 1.

The tool 10 of this invention used in the attachment of the cord at thelocations 7 and 8, or for securing other upholstered items, includes apair of elongated needles 11 and 12. These members are provided withpointed ends 13 and 14, and have eyes 15 and 16 spaced inwardlytherefrom an appropriate distance. In a typical example, this is aroundone and three-fourths inches.

The two needles are secured together at a location adjacent theiropposite ends. This may be by means of a weld 17. Care should be takenin effecting the weld to assure that the temper of the needles is notlost. The attachment of the needles should be spaced a considerabledistance from their tips 13 and 14, being preferably 1 around nineinches from the outer ends of the needles.

A handle 18, which may be of plastic or wood, carries the two needlesadjacent the location where they are secured together.

In use of the device of this invention, a length of string 20 isthreaded through the eyes 15 and 16 of the two needles. The ends 21 and22 of the string, therefore, extend beyond the two needle eyes, whilethere is a loop 23 between the two needles. With the needle so threaded,it is introduced at its tips 13 and 14 into the crevice adjacent one ofthe locations where a tie is to be effected. Then as the looped portion23 is held the needles are ad vanced axially. This causes them to piercethe cover at the crevice, bringing the ends 21 and 22 of the stringthrough the cover to the back side. An intermediate position with thisaccomplished may be seen in FIG. 4. The needles are advanced through theback a suflicient distance so that as the loop 23 is held the ends 21and 22 are disengaged from the needles by being pulled out through theeyes 15 and 16. Then by retracting the handle 18 the tool 10. is removedfrom the seat back and is ready for an additional threading operation.This leaves the loop of the string extending through the openings in thecover formed by the needles 11 and 12, with the free ends 21 and 22disposed on the reverse side of the cover. This permits the string to betied to the spring base or any convenient structure (see FIG. 5). Thestring Patented Feb. 2, 1965.

is drawn tight enough so that the cover is brought against the outer endof the coil spring 26, hence being held firmly in place.

It can be seen, therefore, that through the provisions of the securingof the needles together, such as by the weld 17, at a location wellinwardly of the outer tips of the needles. This permits the tips 13 and14 to .be spaced apart any desired distance'as they are forced throughthe cover assembly with the string. This greatly adds to the versatilityof the tool of this invention, because the spacing at the loop end ofthe string should vary depending upon the particular cover materialused. Where the cover material is heavy, the needle ends are spreadfarther apart so that the openings through the cover are separated by arelatively large distance. For thinner covers, on the other hand, thepoints 13 and 14 are kept close together with only a small loop sectionbetween the apertures through the cover. By being located aconsiderabldistance from the needle tips, the attachment of the needles does not beused advantageously regardless of the nature of the I a cover beingattached.

The welded connection of the two needles also provides the unit with thestrength needed for use in most upholstering jobs. The attachmentassures that the needles cooperate as a column to permit them to bedriven through an upholstered article of any nature. If the needles hadno interconnection, however, they could move independently when underload, which would permit excessive bending and breakage in manyinstances.

In order to prevent the needles from being forced toofar into the itembeing sewn, the construction of FIG. 7'

. the needles. This makes it impossible to insert the needles to thepoint where the goods will be damaged. If desired,

5 the end portion 28 may be formed as a separate collar 7 rather thanbeing integral with the handle as illustrated.

The foregoing detailed description is to be clearly understood as givenby way of illustration and example only, the spirit and scope of thisinvention being limited solely by the appended claims.

I claim: 1. An upholstering tool for inserting a filament through anarticle of furniture comprising a pair of elongated needles,

each of said needles having a pointed distal end, an eye adjacent saiddistal end, and an elongated shank extending from said distal end, meansattaching said needles together at a location remote from said distalends so that said needles are in a side-by-side relationship,

said location being sufliciently spaced from said distal ends that saiddistal ends are movable toward and away from each other by deflectingsaid shanks of said needles intermediate said attaching means to saiddistal ends,

said shanks of said needles having portions extending beyond saidattaching means on the the side thereof remote from 'said distal ends,and a handle,

said portions of said shanks beyond said attaching means extending intosaid'handle,

whereby said handle carries said needles for providing a means forforcing said needles through an upholstered article of furniture.

' 2. A device as recited in claim 1 in which said attaching means isprovided by a welded connec References Cited by the Examiner UNITEDSTATES PATENTS Very l22222 Hill l1280 X Zofuass ll23 8/50 Hearst et a1.223-10 2 8/52. Hoefle 223-102 8/55 Germany; 8/50 Great Britain.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

THOMAS J. HICKEY, Examiner.

Borton 1l2-80-

1. AN UPHOLSTERING TOOL FOR INSERTING A FILAMENT THROUGH AN ARTICLE OFFURNITURE COMPRISING A PAIR OF ELONGATED NEEDLES, EACH OF SAID NEEDLESHAVING A POINTED DISTAL ENDAN EYE ADJACENT SAID DISTAL END, AND ANELONGATED SHANK ETENDING FROM SAID DISTAL END, MEANS ATTACHING SAIDNEEDLES TOGETHER AT A LOCATION REMOTE FROM SAID DISTAL ENDS SO THAT SAIDNEEDLES ARE IN A SIDE-BY-SIDE RELATIONSHIP, SAID LOCATION BEINGSUFFICIENTLY SPACED FROM SAID DISTAL ENDS THAT SAID DISTAL ENDS AREMOVABLE TOWARD AND AWAY FROM EACH OTHER BY DEFLECTING SAID SHANKS OFSAID NEEDDLES INTERMEDIATE SAID ATTACHING MEANS TO SAID DISTAL ENDS,SAID SHANKS OF SAID NEEDLES HAVING PORTIONS EXTENDING BEYOND SAIDATTACHING MEANS ON THE THE SIDE THEREOF REMOTE FROM THE SAID DISTALENDS, AND A HANDLE, SAID PORTIONS OF SAID SHANKS BEYOND SAID ATTACHINGMEANS EXTENDING INTO SAID HANDLE, WHEREBY SAID HANDLE CARRIES SAIDNEEDLES FOR PROVIDING A MEANS FOR FORCING SAID NEEDLES THROUGH ANUPHOLSTERED ARTICLE OF FURNITURE.